Trancefix Best of 2024 - RESULTS!

Hensmon

Admin
TranceFix Crew
Jun 27, 2020
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UK
The Best of 2024 results are here! Below you'll find the top 100 tracks, as well as the best artists, albums, labels, and compilations from the scene, all voted on by members here on TranceFix.

Around 1,500 collective tracks were submitted this year. Thank you once again to the great community members who participated in voting, not to mention the sharing, thoughts and discussion throughout the year in the forum. Let's get started!





Best Artist

Winner: Quietman

Runner up: Activa
Special Mention: Julian Del Agranda, Enigma State


A big congratulations to legendary 90s producer Quietman, who seemed to reappear on Bandcamp, out of nowhere. On that platform, he's been dropping a fine selection of Trance and Progressive tracks, with a magic feeling that's a step above the rest. Not only is his sound sonically tight, featuring many beautiful synths and sounds, the tracks also deliver memorable journeys filled with many grooves, twists, and turns. Dust2Water, Indian Eel and Under The Gaze were three of my personal favorites, but over eight different tracks were submitted in the top 10s, with five making it to the final list. A real treat to have him back producing.

Congratulations to Activa for the runner up spot. Not only is he delivering fantastic originals and remixes year after year, he is also singlehandedly powering half the scene's greatest Trance music through his Borderline label. His Anima Remix is the best vocal trance track of the year, and his remixes of Sculptured and From Within showcase his signature sound in the best way possible. Four of his tracks make it into the top 30 ranked list (six total). Incredibly blessed to have him work so diligently

Special mention to Enigma State and Julian Del Agranda, who are holding down the classic euphoric sounds better than anyone else in the scene. Outstanding producers who seem to get better every year.





Best Label

Winner: Borderline

Runner up: Pure Trance
Special Mention: UTE


Congratulations to Borderline who, for the third year running, is voted best label. Not only that, no fewer than 14 tracks from its catalogue made their way into our top 100, seeing them easily dominating the label votes. It feels like all the best producers from the scene are ending up here right now, whether that’s lesser known/upcoming producers such as @Sunda and Aeon Shift, or scene veterans like Slipstream, Mac & Monday and Stoneface & Terminal. Loving the increased variety of artists and sounds that we saw in 2024. The Enigma State debut with S-Bahn was awesome, and the Universe EP vinyl release a highlight. This label is the best thing to happen to Trance in the modern era, no question!

Pure Trance is runner up, with users on the TF submitting tracks from their label over a hundred times via the different top 10’s, nine of which receiving enough votes to make it to the final 100. Echoes of Silence and Lately are two of the biggest tracks of the year, so big props to Rich for believing in the classic sounds and making it happen on his label. Pure Trance and its sub-labels do an excellent job of showcasing many different scene sounds, whether that’s darker stuff from Digital Blonde, Uplifting anthems or more experimental tracks from the likes of Allende. Consistently delivering for over a decade now, with no sign of slowing down.

Special mention to UTE, the best underground Trance label at this point in time. They seem to be the only underground label that exclusively focuses on Trance sounds, and with that we get a select number of infrequent yet high-quality releases each year, that so far always see a track featuring in the top 10.






Best Album

Winner: Ferry Corsten - Connect

Runner up: Quietman - Found Horizons
Special Mention: Solar Alliance - HAMMARÖ-23


Never expected to see Ferry Corsten appear on a Trancefix final results list! The supersaws and collabs are out in force in Connect, and the end result is actually a very catchy and well produced album that strikes a nice balance between commercial appeal, classic trance sounds and modern melodic club energy. Even if far from his best, it’s easy to understand why people are resonating with this one, considering the appetite for classic sounds is ever unwavering and the commercial side of the genre is still very popular with a large majority of listeners.

Quietman’s album Found Horizons is runner up, a true hidden gem of a find from one of the members of the forum. The bevy of unique-sounding tracks on this album, all in keeping with that old school spirit (but with a modern touch) obviously resonated with the members here. The “rediscovered and unreleased” origin of the tracks is quite telling. You can just feel they’ve in part come from the foregone era progressive music when sound design and track memorability were paramount.

Special Mention to Solar Alliance (aka the UTE lads), who work as a combined force to channel their passion for Trance into an experimental album of underground goodness that sounds technically gorgeous and atmospherically on point.






Best Compilation

Winner: In Search of Sunrise 20


ISOS 20 did a good job at celebrating its 25th anniversary and making this year's installment better than we’ve seen it in a long time. Of the six included mixes (from some great names), Solarstone's very much stood out, transforming this into one of the best ISOS comps since ISOS 7. He included some great artists and captured the ISOS spirit well. Perfectly suited for this kind of compilation and it shows.

There is no other major mixed Trance compilation in the scene right now, so it’s not surprising that nothing else competed with ISOS 20. Other compilations had votes, but the consensus for these was too small to produce a statistically significant outcome - thus failing to produce a runner up nomination for this year.






Top 100 Tracks

@EnigmaState has done it again. For the fourth year running he takes the no1 track position with Echoes of Silence. Big congrats to you once again. It’s clear why this keeps happening. The classic sound is not a fad that is simply targeting nostalgia. It's a formula that demands delightful, ear pleasing sounds and track structures/arrangements that build and create tension in an interesting way. It's just great music, and both mainstream and underground lovers can resonate to some degree, hence Enigma State's ability to continually draw consensus from different pockets of listeners across the scene.

As usual, the list is divided into 2, ranked and unranked.


Ranked (30)
  1. Enigma State - Echoes of Silence [Pure Trance Neon]
  2. Julian Del Agranda - Time Warp [Borderline]
  3. Enigma State & Sean Tyas - Lately [Pure Trance]
  4. Enigma State - S-Bahn [Borderline]
  5. Ferry Corsten, Marsh - Fulfillment [Flashover]
  6. Mikkel Rev - Whorl [UTE]
  7. Factoria - Sculptured (Activa Remix) [Borderline]
  8. Quietman - Indian Eel [Self Release]
  9. Narel - Cut My Dreams [Trancefix Recordings]
  10. Martinou - Expanding [Mule]
  11. Palindromes - Anima (Activa Remix) [Borderline]
  12. Synthazia - Wunderland [Pure Trance]
  13. Rambal Cochet - Body-Buzz [Neptune Discs]
  14. Aeon Shift - Another World [Borderline]
  15. Silva City - The Journey [Armada]
  16. Introversion - Hopeless Dreaming [Makatao]
  17. Quietman - Dust2Water [Self Release]
  18. Hoopoe - Aracari [Forescape Digital]
  19. B from E - Amnesia [Haws]
  20. Brandt Hoff - Pheonix Alpha [FSOE]
  21. Jaron Inc & Wavetraxx - Summerbreeze (Wavetraxx Mix) [Drizzly Eclipse]
  22. Activa - Dark Matter [Borderline]
  23. Fader Cap - Blue Pool [Butter Sessions]
  24. Sunda - Mirage (Julian Del Agranda Remix) [Borderline]
  25. Slipstream & Sonic Element - Forgiven [Pure Trance]
  26. Aeon Shift - Celestial Awakening [Pure Trance Neon]
  27. DJ Dazzle - From Within (Activa Remix) [Borderline]
  28. B from E - Symetrix [Haws]
  29. Clint - Exosphere (Main Mix) [Slowciety]
  30. Alkemy - Cloud Detox (GNMR Rework) [Cindelic]

Unranked (70)
  • Esok - Lavender [Rune Recordings]
  • LostLegend - Liminal Spaces [Self Release]
  • Allan Morrow - Forward Charge [Pure Trance]
  • Acid Synthesis - Repetitions [Planet 303]
  • Quietman - Full Throttle (Dreamtime Mix) [Self Release]
  • Work The Peripherals - BurningBurning [Self Release]
  • Ovnimoon - Feel On Me [Forescape Digital]
  • Bobby Summa - Flower [Trancefix Recordings]
  • Baby Angel - eQuip [39 Records]
  • Mikkel Rev - Tension [UTE]
  • Advanced Civilizations - Regener8 [Test of Time]
  • Dreamphaze - Life Cycle [Love on the Rocks]
  • Rigson - Ariel 94 [Self Release]
  • The Thrillseekers - Be With Me [Adjusted]
  • Grant Trowbridge - Discover [Borderline]
  • Airwave - Inner Child [Airwave Music]
  • Work The Peripherals - Replica [Self Release]
  • Alan Backdrop - Ubevi [Space Trax]
  • Coredata - Strangelove [JOOF]
  • Quietman - Under Their Gaze [Self Release]
  • Hedustma & Ovnimoon - Humanoid [Arlette Records]
  • Ija - When We Dream (First Mix) [Self Release]
  • Chris Johnson - The Void [Borderline: R&D]
  • Factor B - The Girl With Her Head In The Clouds (Ellie's Song) [Theatre of the Mind]
  • Ferry Corsten - Remember [Flashover]
  • Eletania - Papillon (Avalon 62 Mix) [Trancefix Recordings]
  • Work The Peripherals - Blue Neon [The Space Between Us]
  • Acid Synthesis - 303 Sunrises [Planet 303]
  • Siskin - Connected (Standard Form's Waiting for Stars Dub) [Pure Progressive]
  • Rambal Cochet - Hertza Haeon [Junction Forest]
  • Cybernet - New Era (M-Ocean Mix) [Gestalt]
  • LostLegend - Running Man [Pure Trance Neon]
  • Darren Tate & Solarstone - A Long Way Home (Jody Wisternoff & James Grant Remix) [Anjunabeats]
  • Clint - Exosphere (Ambient Mix) [Slowciety]
  • Allende - Fading Light [Pure Trance]
  • Daryl Wilson - Upstream [EDM Recordings]
  • Cybernet - Key to Equilibrium [Gestalt]
  • Naden - Cadence [EDM Records]
  • Julian Del Agranda - Trancefixed [Trancefix Recordings]
  • Horizons - Pokhara@Dawn (Narel Remix) [Landscapes Music]
  • Quietman - Oraculo [Self Release]
  • Aerium & Bobby Summa - The Internal Screen [Trancefix Recordings]
  • Solarstone & Super-Frog Saves Tokyo - Rust (Luke Terry Remix) [Pure Trance]
  • Julian Del Agranda - El Sueno [Borderline]
  • Oprofessionell - Become (Something Else Mix) [UTE]
  • Ki/Ki - Don't Stop (Emotional Mix) [Slash]
  • Activa - Velika (Coredata Remix) [VII]
  • Mikkel Rev - Ocean X [Airways]
  • The Space Brothers & Sue McLaren - Way Back [Armada Captivating]
  • Eletun Selona - Sunla (Eletun's Elevate Mix) [Sewer Sender]
  • Luke Terry - Deep Space [Borderline]
  • Trance Wax - Distance (Coast 2 Coast Remix) [Armada]
  • Priori - Sub Lux (Sansibar Remix) [Kalahari Oyster Cult]
  • Slipstream - Eternal Dream [Borderline]
  • AA Meeting - Supercell [VII]
  • Dylan Forbes - High Point [Hypersoft]
  • Aerium & Julian Del Agranda - Flawless [Pure Trance]
  • DJ Ali - Eternal Drift [Space Trax]
  • Rambal Cochet - Sasha The Explorer [Snippets Music]
  • L-3P - Dewneia [Space Trax]
  • Oprofessionell - Longing (Heavenly Bongo Mix) [UTE]
  • Bethel Music - Have It All (Sonic Element Remix) [Self Release]
  • Shjva - Chrysalis [Warning]
  • Activa & Marcos - Elevate [Borderline]
  • Exotek - Arrival [JOOF]
  • Midian - Requiem [Trancefix Recordings]
  • The Digital Blonde & Lauren Lyon - Iris [Ovnimoon Recordings]
  • Sunda - The Dragon [Landscapes Music]
  • Voiski - Romance Mentale [Funnuvojere Records]
  • Adam Reece - Simulator [Borderline]

Thanks again to everyone who voted. What do you think of the results? This year the ratio of underground to mainstream is less equal, with more mainstream sounds and conventional labels appearing. There were also way more unique tracks than in any past vote, meaning it was much harder to find clear breakaway tracks in the top 30. In 2023 for example the top 30 tracks were far more separated from the unranked, however this time around the top 5 were indeed clear winners, and the split between them all fairly narrow. A few more votes could have easily pushed a different one to the top. Overal a very sexy top 30. The End of Year mix celebrating these should be dropping soon.





2024 Scene Review

Just a quick one this year...

Classic sounds definitely growing in the mainstream. For the first time in years we have labels like Armada and Flashover featured in the top list, with Silva City's 'The Journey' finishing in the top 15. Pure Trance and Borderline were also releasing classic sounds through Enigma State and Julian Del Agranda tracks, and the underground scene continued to lean into a number of different styles that clearly take inspiration from the older era. Classic Trance sounds for the major comeback in 2025? It seems to be trending that way!

The underground side of things is growing year on year too. There was already an explosion of new labels putting out Trance and Progressive in 2023 and it just continued on in 2024. The amount of new artists and labels is relentless. That doesn't necessarily mean we had more quality tracks this year, in fact it was arguably a bit less impressive than the last, especially on the album and compilation front. Labels continue to shy away from proper bespoke mixed compilations, and the many unmixed ones that were released have serious quality control issues and lack impact. This all said, it still remains the most exciting scene to be plugged into and follow, with hundreds of good tracks and producers driving a thriving online and club scene across many different countries. Excellent for the scene in general, but still hoping more UTE like labels appear, as realistically it is them and maybe Space Trax as the only two that focus purely on Trance music.

Combine the mainstream trends and the growing underground and there is a lot to be positive with in terms of how the scene is growing. I'd say it's better than it was 10 years ago, and if things continue then who knows what heights it could reach again.





Site updates

Trancefix is growing!
- Before 2020 the old platform was in slow and constant decline across daily active users and site visits. Not only have we reversed all of this, but according to our analytics platform the amount of new visits (people who have never visited before) increased by 200% compared to 2023. There were 40,000 unique users who visited the site across the year, most coming from the UK and USA, and a lot from Russia, Netherlands and Germany. In total, people visited from over 160 different countries! 40 more countries than last year and some I never even knew existed. So cool to see people enjoying the site from all over the world.

Site updates - There's not too many more visual improvements to make to the site now. We fixed a lot of bugs this year and maybe there's one or two more to catch, so keep us posted if you find some. We're still thinking of a potential way to filter the upcoming release section by genre, so will look into that at some point, and the idea of doing a Trancefix top 1000 still is very appealing... we'll see!

Label updates - Just another two releases this year with the two Forum EPs. Maybe not as much as we hoped, but still very satisfied with how they both turned out. Loads of votes in your top 10s had our label's tracks and that's definitely great motivation to continue. Forum EP03 is somewhat in the works so expect that maybe in Spring, and another EP with a producer featuring in our top 30 this year is also starting to take shape.

As for interviews, only one, but it was one of my favorites The Digital Blonde. For 2025, Hoopoe will be chatting with us before his album drop, and I would love to get an interview with a few underground artists too. TF Radio had way more action, and we've got at least 4 more lined up waiting to go.


That's it! Thanks @Everyone
 
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HTY

Senior Member
Aug 5, 2021
306 Posts
197 Thanked
Just surprised that this forum is so underground to the point of ignoring so many quality trance tunes and artists. I mean Cold Blue is probably the leading uplifting trance producer and I didn't see him mentioned at all despite so many quality tunes. I'm baffled actually.

Is it even that underground? Look at the list and its 50% Pure Trance and Borderline. Armada, FSOE, Flashover all there too.

We are not ignoring those kinds of tracks from Cold Blue, Factor B, Craig Connolly, JOC etc, we are actively avoiding them because it's some of the worst trance the scene has to offer. It's generic as fuck. The template has been repeating for like 20 years now, its become a damn caricature of itself man. Don't even get me started on the vocals. The mainstream uplifting scene is completely out of touch with what it means to make original and nuanced music.
 

Breach

Member
Dec 28, 2023
36 Posts
28 Thanked
The classic sounds were out in force this year, which I loved, but refuse to get my hopes up that it will take off in a meaningful way and we'll return to better times. Thats the cynic in me talking.

On a more positive note, these results you are have here are stellar. I've listened through most of the top 100 and doubled my playlist size for the year. That Space Brothers track was a huge one that slipped me by. I also thought those Aeon Shift tracks were surprisingly good, almost like a 2006 anjuna release. Some of the underground tracks surprised me too.

Enigma State the undisputed king of uplifting trance. Lately was my favorite, but Echoes and S-Bahn were out of this world too. My preference likely changes each week. I have high hopes for your album.

Compilations, as noted, were weak this year. A Movements comp is primed for a return.
 

Recharge

Elite Member
Sep 26, 2020
1,153 Posts
672 Thanked
Age
39
You guys are so off. Here enjoy a list of meh :)

Ordered list on forum is not working so they are all numbA1- nvm got fixed :)

LOL this is bad top 10 is pretty bad and number 2 is WHAT! the hell I just listened to. Sorry Drifting Away

Top Trance Tracks​

These were the most DJ supported Trance tracks of 2024.
  1. David Forbes - Techno Is My Only Drug

  2. Lange ft. Skye - Drifting Away (Alessandra Roncone Remix)

  3. Ferry Corsten & Marsh - Fulfillment

  4. Armin van Buuren & HI-LO - Now Love Will Begin

  5. Aly & Fila & Richard Durand - Nebula

  6. David Forbes - Alcazar

  7. Armin van Buuren & Gryffin - What Took You So Long

  8. Trance Wax - Ascend (Sneijder Remix)

  9. Darren Porter & Mercurial Virus - One Life

  10. Mauro Picotto - Lizard (Dan Cooper Remix)

  11. Amelie Lens - Falling For You

  12. Ferry Corsten & Superstrings - Remember

  13. Nifra ft. EKE - Pull Me In

  14. C-Systems & Aina - Take Me Home

  15. Above & Beyond ft. Zoë Johnston - Crazy Love

  16. Aly & Fila & Lostly - The Unknown

  17. Push - Universal Nation (Charlotte de Witte Rework)

  18. Aly & Fila & Philippe El Sisi & Omar Sherif & Jaren - Count On Me

  19. Darren Porter & XiJaro & Pitch - Reach For The Stars

  20. Roman Messer & Alex M.O.R.P.H. - Tranquillity

  21. Giuseppe Ottaviani & Lea Key - In The Silence

  22. John O'Callaghan & Paul Skelton & Ren Faye - May The Road Rise

  23. Ben Gold & Bo Bruce - Half Light

  24. Jordan Suckley - Fly With Me

  25. Gabriel & Dresden - Kinetic Cinema

  26. Balthazar & JackRock - In The Dark

  27. Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike & Armin van Buuren & Vini Vici & Push - Universal Nation

  28. Super8 & Tab & Lürum ft. Lyca - Hold The Fire

  29. BiXX - Escape To Euphoria (Alatheia Remix)

  30. David Forbes - All On You

  31. Eddie Makabi ft. Einat - Ecstasy (Allen Watts Remix)

  32. Armin van Buuren & D.O.D ft. Laura Welsh - By Now

  33. Cubicore & Linnea Schossow - Heart Of Love

  34. Alexander Popov & Simon & Phil - Rise Again

  35. Davey Asprey - Catch

  36. Allen Watts - Violator

  37. Felix - Don't You Want Me (KI/KI Remix)

  38. Ben Nicky & Hannah Laing & Paul Findlay X Signum ft. Scott Mac - Coming On Strong (Trance Mix)

  39. John O'Callaghan - Autumn Avenue

  40. Paul Denton - Tremor

  41. Kryder - Piece Of Art (Darren Porter Remix)

  42. David Forbes - Air Raid

  43. Jerome Isma-Ae ft. Colette Van Sertima - Hold That Sucker Down (Hel:sløwed Remix)

  44. Yotto - Heartbeat

  45. Mark Sherry - What Happens Next

  46. BT & Matt Fax - Vertical

  47. Ridgewalkers ft. El - Find (Lostly Remix)

  48. Asteroid & Daniel Skyver - Forgiven

  49. Maria Healy - Street Rave

  50. Roman Messer & Jennifer Rene - Alone

  51. BT & Shingo Nakamura - Lifeforce

  52. Anton Pallmer & Dima Menzel - Chasing Stars

  53. The Blizzard - Piercing The Fog (Flaor & The Blizzard Remix)

  54. Allen Watts - Elevate

  55. David Forbes - Monorail

  56. Ruslan Radriges & AV & Anton By & Yevtya - Revival

  57. Laura van Dam - This Feeling (Sean Tyas Remix)

  58. Bryan Kearney - You Will Never Be Forgotten (Lostly Remix)

  59. Tom Ferry & Going Deeper & Sylvie - Silence

  60. Ben Gold & Scott Mac - Damager 24

  61. Armin van Buuren ft. Anne Gudrun - High On Love

  62. Matt Fax - Raven

  63. Marie Vaunt & Belocca - Lost In Rhythm

  64. Alexander Popov & Triticum - Give It To Me (Club Mix)

  65. Hel:sløwed & Amber Revival - Wildfire

  66. John O'Callaghan - Pebble Beach

  67. Alexander Popov & Eximinds - Atlantis

  68. AMINTO & Anton By & AV - Something To Say

  69. Asteroid & Transaphonic - Bioluminescent

  70. Robert Nickson - Delyo's Voyage (Alan Morris Remix)

  71. Simon Patterson - Lost Vagueness

  72. David Forbes - Daytona

  73. Hel:sløwed & JNSN - Want Me

  74. Skytech - Take You Higher

  75. SØNIN & BLR ft. Brieanna Grace - Rush (2AM Club Mix)

  76. Roman Messer - Coming Home (Full Fire Mix)

  77. Roman Messer & Diandra Faye - Why So Serious

  78. Lostly - Freedom Of Movement

  79. Amos & Riot Night & Aeon Shift - Live Wire

  80. Allen Watts - Soulsearcher

  81. Will Rees & Rhys Elliott - Defector

  82. Sneijder - In And Out Of My Life (Will Rees Remix)

  83. Shogun ft. Melissa Loretta - Skyfire (AVAO Remix)

  84. Talla 2XLC & Fragma - Toca's Miracle

  85. Nitrous Oxide & Adam Sobiech - Magique

  86. Roman Messer & ThoBa & Veronica Bravo - High Wire

  87. Alexander de Roy & Hidden Tigress - Intention (Eximinds Remix)

  88. Eximinds & Norni - Allemande

  89. Eximinds & Norni - Alliance

  90. Mall Grab & Effy - iluv

  91. Factor B - The Girl With Her Head In The Clouds (Ellie's Song)

  92. Spectorsonic & Alex Believe & Julia Violin - Chrysanthemum

  93. MR.BLACK - Party People (Giuseppe Ottaviani Retouch)

  94. Sam Laxton - Wonderland

  95. Stoneface & Terminal - In My Mind

  96. Andrew Rayel - The Abyss

  97. Sean Tyas & Enigma State - Lately

  98. Key4050 & Plumb - I Love You (Bryan Kearney pres. Karney Dark Dub)

  99. Pinkque & That Girl - Breathe Fire

  100. Allen Watts - Enigma

 
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Dan Holden

Member
Feb 20, 2024
66 Posts
38 Thanked
Is it even that underground? Look at the list and its 50% Pure Trance and Borderline. Armada, FSOE, Flashover all there too.

We are not ignoring those kinds of tracks from Cold Blue, Factor B, Craig Connolly, JOC etc, we are actively avoiding them because it's some of the worst trance the scene has to offer. It's generic as fuck. The template has been repeating for like 20 years now, its become a damn caricature of itself man. Don't even get me started on the vocals. The mainstream uplifting scene is completely out of touch with what it means to make original and nuanced music.

Interesting opinions. Can't say I've found other Trance fans that carry these sentiments, but it's been an eye opener to see what members on this forum think about trance.

You name several of the best producers in the scene and then claim they are the worst. I'm glad most of the trance community don't agree with you.
 

Julian Del Agranda

Elite Member
Jul 3, 2020
1,860 Posts
2,266 Thanked
What you are saying mate, is like saying Justin Bieber is the best singer ever. That's how this comes across.

And while Justin is in fact quite a great commercial pop act, with some neat productions as well, mainly in his Sorry, What Do You Mean years... in general people will hopefully agree that if you look at purely the singing, there are people who are better at that, with a more unique sound, more complex use of their voice etc. I mean, Adam Lambert is clearly a WAY better singer... but with not even 10% of his success (although singing with Queen is a cool achievement).

Craig Connely is like the Justin Bieber of trance. He has success with his overdramatic vocal arpeggio trance. People don't seem to care that's yet another female going "woooohooooooohoooooo love is all around ohhh ohhhhhh" (or whatever) with yet another arpeggio incoming consisting of 16th note pluck sounds. So fair play to him, he seems to be on every trance flyer. But if you seriously look at the productions (and I mean this for all those '138 generic trance' artists.... it's really... generic. There's hardly any originallity. Not in the production, not in the melodies, not in the vocals, not in the choice of sounds... nothing.

You can like it if you want. Most of us like some of it too, when executed properly (we all love a cheap burger every now and then)... but it really isn't "the best" what is made in the scene...
 

TwinSilo

Senior Member
Feb 24, 2021
402 Posts
226 Thanked
USA
Yes, simply put, the more cheap the music the more the popularity increases. I find this to be true in every genre, but I can't explain the reason as to why this is such a ubiquitous truth. Marvel movies are soulless formulas but they are the biggest movies of our time. Mainstream popularity is the hallmark of poor quality, and that's how its always been.
 
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Archon

Gagi
TranceFix Crew
Jun 27, 2020
4,164 Posts
3,031 Thanked
What you are saying mate, is like saying Justin Bieber is the best singer ever. That's how this comes across.

And while Justin is in fact quite a great commercial pop act, with some neat productions as well, mainly in his Sorry, What Do You Mean years... in general people will hopefully agree that if you look at purely the singing, there are people who are better at that, with a more unique sound, more complex use of their voice etc. I mean, Adam Lambert is clearly a WAY better singer... but with not even 10% of his success (although singing with Queen is a cool achievement).

Craig Connely is like the Justin Bieber of trance. He has success with his overdramatic vocal arpeggio trance. People don't seem to care that's yet another female going "woooohooooooohoooooo love is all around ohhh ohhhhhh" (or whatever) with yet another arpeggio incoming consisting of 16th note pluck sounds. So fair play to him, he seems to be on every trance flyer. But if you seriously look at the productions (and I mean this for all those '138 generic trance' artists.... it's really... generic. There's hardly any originallity. Not in the production, not in the melodies, not in the vocals, not in the choice of sounds... nothing.

You can like it if you want. Most of us like some of it too, when executed properly (we all love a cheap burger every now and then)... but it really isn't "the best" what is made in the scene...
BuT tHe AsOt CoMmUnItY lOvEs HiM!!1
 
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Recharge

Elite Member
Sep 26, 2020
1,153 Posts
672 Thanked
Age
39
Surprise that Lately is No.97, I never expect it appears here when I first watch this list.

And I do voted for Lately in ASOT Tune Of The Year 2024 but it seems that my power is too weak.
I might be wrong, but I think that's a list extrapolated from tracklists uploaded there, in a way the most played songs from bigger acts, artists, djs.

For me there were some strange things like or example:
16. Aly & Fila & Lostly - The Unknown
5. Aly & Fila & Richard Durand - Nebula
For me atlest Nebula sounds a bit meh, sounds quite boring. The Unknown sounds more like the typical Aly & Fila song and way better like there was more effort put in it. But I guess there is a lot of factors like when the songs came out and who picked them in their sets...

Not to mention this horrible abomination of a remix at number 2 that not only doesnt bring anything new, but has a horrendous build up and after the build up even sounds off.
 
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BS_BlackScout

Senior Member
Jul 13, 2020
280 Posts
151 Thanked
Age
25
Hell, Brazil
Thanks for keeping this place alive. Trance has a special place in my heart and to have a place to discuss with others, even if it's pure banter sometimes is fun.

Ferry deserves the Album Win! Seeing old school producers turn their eyes back to a production style that hasn't been mainstream for ages (and that I was too young to experience back in the day) is extremely refreshing.
 
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Dmoore

Member
Dec 24, 2021
172 Posts
99 Thanked
I'm so late to this, but once again blown away by the effort put in here and not to mention the taste of guys. This place is the last stronghold in trance. I don't have a single person in my life anymore that likes or listens to trance music, so the fact I can find likeminded people who appreciate artists like Enigma State, Activa, Quietman, Coredata and other quality artists like this is nothing short of miraculous. We are a rare breed in this day and age, no doubt about it.

I voted for Quietman for the album and artist of the year so I'm satisfied there, but I am yet to try Ferry Corsten's album, which I was not expecting to see. Activa and Borderline are just obvious top contenders every year as far as I'm concerned, and the same can be said about Enigma State. It blew my mind when I saw the reddit and ASOT Top lists and he's either not featured or barely mentioned. Sometimes it feels like they wouldnt know a good trancer if it slapped them round the face.

At this rate I see Enigma State winning top track for years to come, for the reasons you stated in the results. Despite all our different preferences in genres, we can all mostly agree that his music is delivering in a way most don't. When you have that kind of consistency it is hard to beat.
 
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